Director of Research and Evaluation

Breakthrough Collaborative, founded in San Francisco in 1978, is an educational organization that uses an innovative “students teaching students” and “teachers training teachers” model of instruction to unlock the extraordinary potential of low-income/first-generation college students and aspiring educators to learn, grow, and transform their own lives and their communities as leaders. Our dual mission is to increase the academic opportunities for highly-motivated, underserved students and to inspire and develop the next generation of transformative teachers and leaders. Today, Breakthrough is comprised of 24 affiliates serving more than 10,000 students and training over 1,000 undergraduates annually to teach in our academically rigorous six-week program. To learn more, visit www.breakthroughcollaborative.org. 

The Director of Research & Evaluation (DRE) is an exciting opportunity to contribute research expertise and passion for educational equity at a pivotal and exciting time in Breakthrough’s 40+ year history. In this new role, the DRE will grow Breakthrough’s evaluation and impact capacity by developing a vision for the organization’s evaluation activities and research agenda, providing a data-driven approach to decision-making, and setting strategy with the leadership team. The DRE will guide the team to produce relevant, compelling, and best-in-class research on Breakthrough’s work, drive efforts to measure impact locally and nationally, and recommend action to ensure that Breakthrough’s impact is sustainable and scalable. The successful DRE will foster an organization-wide culture of inquiry and will provide vision and direction that is guided by our mission and responsive to programmatic and affiliate needs.

During their first year, a key priority for the DRE will be to inform and partner with staff on the implementation of newly developed “Collaborative Standards.” Collaboratively developed by leaders across the organization, achievement of these goals will ensure that we deliver consistently excellent programs to our students, families, teachers, and communities and provide a foundation for sustainable scaling so we may serve many more of them in future. During their first year, the DRE will collaborate closely with the Technology and Program teams on the continued development of the product roadmap for the Breakthrough Starter Pack (BTSP), including a Tableau rollout. Launched in 2019 on the Salesforce AppExchange, BTSP is a part of an innovative and intentional Collaborative-wide initiative to help Breakthrough affiliates achieve greater sustainability, scale, efficiency, and impact through transformational thinking and operational and strategic change.

Reporting to Chief People & Program Officer and managing Breakthrough’s Manager of Impact & Evaluation, the DRE will work closely with National and affiliate staff. This full-time position is based at our headquarters in Oakland, CA. Remote candidates are also invited to apply, provided they have experience working remotely.

 Conduct internal program evaluation to understand impact of the Breakthrough model at local and national scales

 Evolve data-driven practices across departments and Collaborative-wide (via Salesforce, BTSP, etc.)

 Create, maintain, and enforce data integrity and standards in collaboration with National Staff

 Understand education landscape and current policy agendas and movements which affect Breakthrough’s student, teacher and organizational constituents

 Analyze publicly-available national data to create benchmarks and standards for Breakthrough programming

 Research trends in evaluation in major organizational areas – out of school, summer learning loss, social and emotional learning, STEM

 Develop research partnerships with external evaluators and research institutions

 Partner with the leadership team and affiliate leaders to define vision and strategy to promote best-inclass program delivery and sustainable scaling across the Collaborative

 In partnership with the Communications team, synthesize and disseminate learning from research and evaluation to all departments and stakeholders; provide relevant organizational data to support Breakthrough’s internal and external messaging.

 Foster efficient and effective cross-functional teamwork and result-oriented deliverables

 Effectively manage and mentor the Manager of Impact & Evaluation and support the professional development of colleagues across the organization

 Grow and nurture relationships with internal and external stakeholders at all levels of the organization

 Respond to requests for inquiry, develop and oversee team work plans to ensure research priorities reflect organizational and strategic goals

 PhD in education, public policy, or other social science related field OR Master’s Degree in education, public policy, or other social science with at least four years of relevant work experience  Experience in or significant knowledge of education reform as a practitioner or researcher, preferred

 Proven ability to lead strategic initiatives and collaborate with members of a leadership team

 At least two years of management experience; ability to foster talent development

 Experience conducting research and evaluation using quantitative and qualitative methods

 Demonstrated technical proficiency and versatility with Excel and statistical software (R, SPSS, STATA, etc.); experience with Salesforce and Tableau is a plus

 Knowledge of NCES datasets, especially IPEDS and the Digest of Education Statistics

 Ability to meaningfully represent technical data to a broad audience

 Experience developing surveys, conducting interviews and focus groups within an educational context (students and teachers) is a plus

 Experience developing indicators for benchmarking, setting goals, and monitoring progress

 Ability to generate clearly written reports and communicate with varied audiences

 Proven track-record of successful project management

 Creative and analytical thinking with strong problem-solving skills; excellent verbal and written communication skills

 Ability to meet deadlines, prioritize simultaneous requests, and proactively manage across the range of organizational relationships, including upward (executive leadership), downward (direct reports), laterally (peers and colleagues)

 Commitment to educational equity and Breakthrough’s mission

 Experience leading and participating as a member of a high-performing team that is remote/geographically dispersed

 Ability to travel nationally several times per year

The compensation for this position is commensurate with experience and expertise. We offer competitive health benefits, a 401k retirement contribution, and a generous paid time-off policy. Most importantly, we offer the opportunity to work with an amazing group of smart, dedicated, and fun people!

To apply, please upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter (PDF), outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications for the position (link below).

While applications will be reviewed on rolling basis, preference will be given to qualified candidates submitting materials by Wednesday, February 12.

Breakthrough Collaborative is an equal opportunity employer and makes a particular effort to recruit candidates from all backgrounds.